Global Engineering Firm Boosts Sales with SAP Business One

July 8, 2014 by Iain Bate

Sales are up 14% at Mollart Engineering Ltd since implementing SAP Business One. With apps from SAP partner IIS, Mollart maximizes value even further.

Mollart Engineering Ltd is a world leader in deep hole drilling with a global reputation for the expert design, development, and the production of tools and associated processes across international markets. Established some 85 years ago, Mollart is a family-run company that now serves the aerospace, automotive, defense, oil, nuclear, semiconductor, and telecommunications industries.

Around three years ago, Mollart recognized it needed a sophisticated business management solution to manage its day-to-day activities. Having acquired a company that used SAP Business One, Mollart quickly realized how a wider implementation could benefit the business. Mike Pragnell, Operations Director, explains.

What system did you have in place prior to the implementation of SAP Business One?

We were using a product that was basically a green screen system tweaked to provide a Microsoft Windows solution. We also used this as three independent divisions and neither division could interact with the others. This also meant we had three separate databases containing key business intelligence.

What problems were Mollart suffering before it considered SAP Business One?

The system we were using was to be made obsolete. So the decision was made to look for a complete ERP solution which would incorporate all the divisions into one database and cope with all our different manufacturing requirements. By coincidence, Mollart made an acquisition of a tooling company who already were using SAP Business One and we liked what we saw and decided to trial it one of our divisions. Things then took off from there.

So how has Mollart benefited from using SAP Business One? Have you witnessed any reduction in costs since implementation?

In the divisions we have implemented the solution we are seeing a much more user-friendly interface and the ability to integrate the system with different drill down menus. We have also put a lot of effort along with IIS into bringing true (actual) costings; so over the next financial year we would expect to see more accurate job costings that will benefit the whole of the company.

What about the scalability of your manufacturing operations? Have these increased?

Yes. The company has witnessed an increase in turnover by around 14% for the past two years running since the implementation of SAP Business One.

How has SAP Business One helped you manage your inventory? What improvements have you experienced?

In the division we have implemented SAP Business One we have seen much greater control of our inventory and it makes decision making on what to restock a far simpler process.

What about overall levels of efficiency and productivity?

The level of complexity in creating marketing documents has greatly been reduced and accuracy has also been improved across the business.

The company also has several B1 Apps complementing SAP Business One. How have these add-ons enhanced your ERP solution and made Mollart more agile and responsive?

Without the B1 Production add-on from IIS we would not be able to use SAP Business One in our manufacturing process as there are business specific functions that we require when manufacturing our range of products.

How would you describe the customer service provided by IIS?

The team at IIS are a group of very nice people to work with.

Finally, Mollart was recently presented with the Run Faster Award. The company was chosen from several nominees as the organization which has embraced innovation, has been open to improvement and utilized SAP Business One more than any other. What were your thoughts on receiving the award and why do you believe the company chosen over other customers?

We were surprised we won the award as we felt we were always pushing IIS to provide a solution around the functionality of certain B1 Apps and sometimes felt we were a bit of an annoyance! However, at the IIS Showcase event in Dublin, when we met other users it was clear Mollart were using SAP Business One to a much greater depth than other customers. It was nice to know that the work we did developing B1 Production alongside IIS had been recognized as we believe the mutual cooperation will be of benefit to other companies.